FLOORING WEBSITE HELPS THE POCKETBOOK AS THE ECONOMY TAKES A DIVE

The flooring industry is feeling the squeeze of the economic downturn just like every other industry. Flooring retailers, installers and floor cleaning professionals – with few exceptions – are all struggling as jobless rates rise and people have less money to spend. Recent estimates suggest that a significant number of flooring businesses in the United States have closed their doors in recent months. It’s hard to put a smile on a number like that, but there is some comfort in knowing that there is some help out there.

“Like every industry, the flooring business has taken a hammering,” said Damien Patton, founder and CEO of FindAnyFloor.com™. “Flooring professionals who a month ago had a stable business are now lined up looking for work like so many other people. Given that, it’s gratifying that what we do at FAF can actually help them, as well as the people looking to buy flooring but not overspend.”

FindAnyFloor.com is the world’s largest flooring information website and it ranks in the top one percent of all searched sites on the Internet. Despite the woes of the economy, FAF has steadily grown in strength since it was unveiled in mid-August of 2008.

The “help” that Patton refers to comes in a variety of forms.

To begin with, the site runs very deep with information. This is a benefit to consumers looking to save time and money by getting the right floor for their needs. And by using the site’s Find A Local™ search directory, customers can also access information on thousands of flooring professionals. By simply entering their zip code, site visitors can find the retailers, installers and cleaners nearest their home, which again translates to saving time and, very possibly, money.

Size Up That Floor or Reach Out to a Professional

The site’s state-of-the-art Quick Click Floor Estimator™ is an easy-to-use online tool for calculating the area, cost and waste factor of any new floor. By simply using the cursor to click and drag the provided flooring templates, any room configuration can be duplicated. From there, all kinds of options can be compared: for example, the cost of bamboo compared to cork; or angled tiling compared to having it laid straight across the room. So rather than taking a stab in the dark, the customer knows not only what outlay they’re looking at, but precisely what they’re getting for that outlay.

The latest addition to the FindAnyFloor.com “toolbox” is the Ask A Pro™ Live Chat. Site visitors just click on the Ask A Pro button which appears on every page, type in their flooring question, and receive a real-time response. It’s free of charge and requires no sign-up or log-in. In other words, it’s the simplest way possible to get unbiased flooring answers and get them fast. Of course, the key word is “unbiased.”

Sweet Deals and “Friendly Flooring”

Any way to save money helps these days. It all adds up. FindAnyFloor.com has developed strong relationships with the professionals listed on the site and offers a Discounts & Coupons section for those seeking flooring goods and services. Once again, it’s simply a matter of the consumer typing in their zip code to find the vendors in their area who are offering deals.

Many people have special requirements when it comes to their floors. Perhaps they have pets or they suffer from allergies. Maybe they have some form of disability or are the parent of young children. Then again, they may live in a demanding climate or be very environmentally conscious. For just such circumstances, FindAnyFloor.com came up with its Friendly Flooring™ section. Site users in the aforementioned situations can now go directly to the flooring information put together just for them.

How does this save money? That’s a long list. For example, some floors are kinder to allergy suffers than others – which can mean savings on medicines. Other floors are resistant to damage that might be caused by pets or climate swings. And in the case of, say, toddlers, well a floor that is forgiving on their tumbles and falls can save on medical bills not to mention the anguish caused to both parent and child. No other flooring site can boast anything like Friendly Flooring.

Helping You Get It Right

Few things are more expensive than mistakes. Imagine buying flooring and then finding it didn’t suit your house or your needs. Or worse still, buying it and then trying to install it and botching the job. With FindAnyFloor.com’s detailed Buying Guides, do-it-yourself Installation Guides, and handy Buying Checklists, it’s hard to go wrong. All of the guides are available specifically for each of the major flooring types: bamboo, concrete, carpet, cork, hardwood, laminate, linoleum, rubber, stone, tile, and vinyl.

The Buying Guides cover all the main areas of floor purchasing: where to buy, questions to ask, installation considerations, and more. The Installation Guides come in short form for the more experienced do-it-yourselfer and a longer, more detailed form. A printable pdf version is available too, and once again, all the main floor types are covered. The buying checklists are a great way to move methodically through the purchasing process and make sure you don’t miss any key questions or decisions.

FindAnyFloor.com is also in the process of adding a series of installation videos to the site. Used in tandem with the installation guides, they make DIY jobs easier for the savvy homeowner.

Great Discussion Forums

FindAnyFloor.com’s Discussion Forums provide a community for flooring consumers. Site visitors can join one of the discussions or start their own. Naturally, the experience of others can be a money saver – and FAF even has a forum section specifically titled “Money Saving Tips.” Open it up and you’ll find a variety of subjects that can save you more than just nickels and dimes.

They say that knowledge is power. Well, when it comes to making major purchases in a shaky economy, it’s also a great insurance policy. With over 10,000 pages of flooring information, FindAnyFloor.com forewarns and forearms flooring consumers. Whether planning a major purchase or wondering how best to repair that pet-claw scratch, FAF is the premier website for getting the right, money-saving information.

“When I started FindAnyFloor.com I wanted it to be a thorough, plain-English resource that the average consumer could use and benefit from,” said Patton. “I didn’t want to have lots of pointless bells and whistles on the site or cater only to the high-end consumers or flooring initiates. This is a site for everyone. And with the things that are going on with the economy now, I know more than ever that I did the right thing.”

Economists aren’t predicting light at the end of the economic tunnel for some time yet. So if ever there was a time for doing the right thing with your “dollars and sense,” it’s now. It’s still possible to purchase within your means…with a little help from your Internet friends.

Article Source: http://www.articleopus.com

About The Author
Find And Floor is a flooring information site that provides a full scale of flooring information for the novice and the expert.  Complete with a flooring directory and a great forum it's one of the leading spaces online to keep up with the ever changing flooring industry.

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